Analysing public service outsourcing: the value of a regulatory perspective

This article draws on findings from two longitudinal case studies of voluntary organisations engaged in delivering social care services via purchaser – provider relations with local authorities. The study focuses on changes to contractual relations, employment conditions in provider organisations and service quality. The article argues the influence of the market on these changes can only be adequately comprehended by rooting the analysis in an understanding of the way in which surrounding regulatory frameworks shape its structure and operation. In doing so, it reveals how in an era of shifting market conditions characterised by greater competition and dramatic local authority cuts, a ‘soft’ regulatory framework offers little support to partnership relations between voluntary organisations and local authorities. Instead, the regulatory environment undermines financial security among voluntary organisations, degrades employment conditions in them and raises concerns regarding their service quality

Public services outsourcing in an era of austerity: the case of British social care

Utilising an institutional, inter-organisational and inter-personal framework, longitudinal qualitative data are used to examine the changing nature of state – voluntary sector relationships in the area of social care outsourcing and its implications for the terms and conditions of those employed by Scottish voluntary organisations. Over the period 2002 to 2008/09, against the background of funders seeking to pass on efficiencies to voluntary organisations, these relationships have become increasingly cost-based and ‘arms-length’. This has been accompanied by downward pressures on staff terms and conditions, which are intensifying because of more draconian public expenditure cuts. Consequently, voluntary sector employers are increasingly converging on an employment model based on low pay and more limited access to sickness, pension and other benefits that is informed strongly by narrow financial logics

Detection of SiO emission from a massive dense cold core

We report the detection of the SiO (J = 2 - 1) transition from the massive cold dense core G333.125-0.562. The core remains undetected at wavelengths shorter than 70 micron and has compact 1.2 mm dust continuum. The SiO emission is localised to the core. The observations are part of a continuing multi-molecular line survey of the giant molecular cloud G333. Other detected molecules in the core include 13CO, C18O, CS, HCO+, HCN, HNC, CH3OH, N2H+, SO, HC3N, NH3, and some of their isotopes. In addition, from NH3 (1,1) and (2,2) inversion lines, we obtain a temperature of 13 K. From fitting to the spectral energy distribution we obtain a colour temperature of 18 K and a gas mass of 2 x 10^3 solar mass. We have also detected a 22 GHz water maser in the core, together with methanol maser emission, suggesting the core will host massive star formation. We hypothesise that the SiO emission arises from shocks associated with an outflow in the cold core.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, to be published in MNRA

Edinburgh, National Library of Scotland, Advocates' MS 18.7.7: Sedulius, "Carmen Paschale"

125. Edinburgh, National Library of Scotland, Advocates' MS 18.7.7 Sedulius, "Carmen Paschale" [Ker 111, Gneuss 253) HISTORY: Presumably English, late 10c with OE glosses of late 10c and 11c, and Latin glosses of similar and later date. From its later association with Adv. MSS 18.6.12 and 18.7.8, both with Thorney inscriptions (Ker 1964: 189), it is inferred that this too belonged to Thorney Abbey. Bound with these manuscripts, it was in the library of Henry Savile of Banke (1568-1617) and has his cipher for "Hnry Savil bnk" on f. lr; no. 7 (m)-(o) in the catalogue in Gilson 1908 (cf. also Watson 1969: 18). Owned by the herald, historian, and collector Sir James Balfour of Denmilne (d. 1657; Mackie 1928; Cunningham 1989: 121-23), whose ex libris is on f. ii recto (dated 1630; the significance of dates in his ex libris is not certain; also Denmilne no. 56 on f. i recto and mark on f. 41 v). He had the three separately rebound. The majority of Balfour's manuscripts, including this one, were sold in 1698 (A Catalogue 1698: no. 189) to the Advocates' Library in Edinburgh (ex libris on ff. i recto,_ lr). From approximately 1698 to 1840 the shelfmark was A.5.29 (f. i recto). In 1925 the Faculty of Advocates gave their non-legal collections of books and manuscripts to the nation on the foundation of the National Library of Scotland

Conductance of a single molecule anchored by an isocyanide substituent to gold electrodes

The effect of anchoring group on the electrical conductance of a single molecule bridging two Au electrodes was studied using di-substituted (isocyanide (CN-), thiol (S-) or cyanide (NC-)) benzene. The conductance of a single Au/1,4-diisocyanobenzene/Au junction anchored by isocyanide via a C atom (junction with the Au-CN bond) was $3 \times 10 ^{-3} G_{0}$ ($2e^{2}/h$). The value was comparable to $4 \times 10 ^{-3} G_{0}$ of a single Au/1,4-benzenedithiol/Au junction with the Au-S bond. The Au/1,4-dicyanobenzene/Au molecular junction with the Au-NC bond did not show well-defined conductance values. The metal-molecule bond strength was estimated by the distance over which the molecular junction was stretched before breakdown. The stretched length of the molecular junction with the Au-CN bond was comparable to that of the Au junction, indicating that the Au-CN bond was stronger than the Au-Au bond.Comment: 3 figures, to be appear in Appl. Phys. Let

The influence of 'soft' fair work regulation on union recovery: a case of re-recognition in the Scottish voluntary social care sector

This longitudinal case study contributes to debates concerning how ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ forms of regulation can interact to contribute to the advancement of worker rights. More specifically, the article explores the contribution of Scotland’s ‘soft’ fair work (FW) programme and the UK’s ‘hard’ statutory recognition procedure to union re-recognition in a voluntary sector social care provider. In combination, ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ regulation are found to have added breadth to the pressures for re-recognition exerted by the union, bringing reputational and financial costs associated with derecognition to the employer. Concerns nevertheless arose regarding the depth of impact from this interaction due to union compromises on key issues in the final recognition agreement. Due to the specific public service context of the study, doubts are also expressed regarding the potential for unions in other hard to organise sectors to achieve similar outcomes